ENGAGED On Nov. 26, Australian singer-actress Danielle Spencer, 32, agreed to wed bad boy Russell Crowe, 38. Neither has been married before; the couple have yet to set a date.

AILING Electronica egghead Moby, 37, suffered cuts and bruises on his face after two men assaulted him Dec. 12 outside a Boston club where he’d just performed. Police say the unidentified assailants punched him and sprayed him with pepper spray. In a statement on his website, Moby said he ”wasn’t all that badly hurt,” adding, ”Maybe I should go out and run into a table so that I could look really beaten-up.”… On Dec. 3, The Graduate seductress Kathleen Turner, 48, returned to the Marworth rehab facility in Waverly, Pa., for two weeks’ treatment for a drinking problem.

ARRESTS On Dec. 7, actor Tom Sizemore, 41, star of CBS’ just-canceled Robbery Homicide Division, was charged with misdemeanor battery in L.A. for allegedly punching, pushing, and threatening an unidentified woman who claimed the two were dating. His spokeswoman says the two never dated; Sizemore’s lawyer says the actor is a ”victim of attempted extortion…there was no violence involved.”

CANNED Britney Spears, 21, is no longer a slave 4 Pepsi. The soft-drink giant announced Dec. 17 that it was dumping its pop pitchwoman of two years for foxy Destiny’s Child frontwoman Beyonce Knowles, 21.

COURTS On Dec. 6, an L.A. judge sentenced convicted shoplifter Winona Ryder, 31, to 480 hours of community service, three years’ probation, $3,700 in fines, $6,355 in restitution, and psychological and drug counseling. Her probation report reveals that she received 37 prescriptions from 20 doctors between January 1996 and December 1998…. On Dec. 12, Nick Nolte, 61, pleaded no contest to charges of driving under the influence stemming from his Sept. 11 arrest in Malibu, Calif. He was placed on probation for three years with orders to undergo alcohol and drug counseling and submit to random drug testing…. On Dec. 5, a federal judge awarded Pamela Anderson, 35, and herex-hubby, Tommy Lee, 40, a default judgment of $740,893 each in their five-year fight against the company that sold their notorious sex tape online. The company, which had no representation in court, could not be reached for comment…. Survivor: Thailand winner Brian Heidik’s wife, Charmaine, 30, will undergo anger-management counseling under a plea deal for her Nov. 17 arrest on spousal-battery charges. Her case will be dismissed if she completes six months of counseling. Reps for the Heidiks declined to comment…. On Dec. 11, David Lee Roth, 48, sued his ex-Van Halen bandmates and Warner Bros. Records (a division of EW parent AOL Time Warner), claiming he’s owed at least $200,000 in royalties. Warner declined to comment; the band’s rep didn’t return calls…. On Dec. 16, Liza Minnelli, 56, and hubby David Gest, 49, filed a $23 million breach-of-contract suit against Viacom, (parent of VH1) for pulling the plug on the couple’s planned reality show. VH1 declined to comment.